Daisy Ridley’s Zombie Flick Tanks: Sees Historic Drop in Second Week!

The recent film We Bury the Dead, featuring Daisy Ridley as Ava Newman, experienced a steep decline in its second weekend earnings at the box office. Released on January 2, the narrative follows Ava as she navigates a zombie outbreak in Australia while searching for her lost spouse, portrayed by Matt Whelan.

Despite receiving positive critiques and securing an 85% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, We Bury the Dead struggled to resonate with moviegoers. It opened to a modest $2.5 million across 1,172 theaters, ranking eleventh in its debut weekend.

The film’s revenue plummeted by 85.1% in its second weekend, bringing in only $371,885 from 851 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. This significant drop places it alongside For King + Country: A Drummer Boy Christmas – Live and Boy Kills World as having one of the worst second-weekend performances for a non-re-release film.

A contributing factor to this sharp decline is the reduced number of theaters showing the film—321 fewer than its opening weekend. Moreover, the average earnings per theater also dramatically fell from $2,134 to $436.

Here are other notable movies with significant second-weekend drops:

The swift downturn of We Bury the Dead at the box office might be attributed to the moderate to negative feedback from viewers, reflected in a lower 47% score on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter. Additionally, it faced stiff competition from other horror releases of 2026, including the debut of Primate during its second weekend.

This film’s challenge is indicative of a broader trend where either a film achieves blockbuster success or falters, evidenced by the recent box office hits like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Although We Bury the Dead has struggled theatrically, there is potential for recovery through upcoming VOD and streaming releases, which could expand its audience reach significantly.